Don't Be A Stranger
by rhymenocerous
Summary: 8x02 DL Post-ep Fic. Rated M just to be safe. "We were supposed to have lunch together today," Lindsay said quietly. She rested her elbows on her desk and buried her face in her hands. "This is harder than we thought it would be."


**A/N: Yikes, late again with my post-ep. I've been torn as to how to approach this one as I wanted to do justice to the amazing DL scenes we got in this last episode. I couldn't believe my eyes as I watched the show last Friday night… I was sure I was hallucinating and that some amazing FanFic was playing out on my TV screen… **

**My mind started whirring with possibilities for this story right away and it's gone through a few versions over the past few days. My muse wanted it to be super angsty for some reason but I was aiming for fluffiness… so I'm hoping that what we've arrived at is a kind of happy medium between the two. I shall call it **_**flangst**_**. ;) **

**I've given it a soft M rating just to be on the safe side… it's nothing too terribly smutty, but I figured it's better to be safe than sorry! I really hope you enjoy!**

**Oh, and before I forget, I'd like to say an enormous thanks to those who reviewed my 8x01 story Make the Most of the Time You've Got: **_**afrozenheart412, Ditto123, webdlfan, canucklehead, Daisy1966, Alex Joleta, rapidtetv, KTmac09**_**, and **_**MesserFamilyFan100**_**. You guys rock!**

* * *

><p>"That was the Secret Service," Lindsay explained after hanging up the phone. "Some of Josh's bills turned up at a First Federation branch in the village. They traced the deposit back to '<em>Randy's Rock Shop<em>'." She turned to Danny and saw a flash of recognition on his face.

"That's the same place the vic's girlfriend works," he mused aloud.

Lindsay nodded her head eagerly, happy that the pieces of their case were finally starting to fall into place. "It's also where Michael bought the guitar," she said, reaching once again for the phone and starting to dial. "I'd better call Flack and have him and Jo stop by and pay a visit to this Randy guy. Maybe he can shed some light on what's going on here."

"Babe…" Danny sighed, but was silenced as Lindsay's call was answered.

"Oh, hey Don," she said. "I have a lead I need you to follow up on… Yeah. Place called '_Randy's Rock Shop_'… Mmm hmm…" She glanced quickly over at Danny who was once again lingering near the door while he waited for her to finish. She shot him an apologetic smile before turning her attention back to Flack.

"Yup. Some of Josh's funny money turned up in his deposit down at First Federation… No, I don't know if he knew they were fake. That's your job, Detective…"

She laughed at Flack's response and looked over at Danny only to see him glance impatiently down at his watch.

"I gotta go," he mouthed.

Lindsay grimaced. She held up her finger, imploring him with her eyes to give her just a little more time. "One more minute," she mouthed back at him. "Please?"

Danny closed his eyes and let out a disgruntled sigh, but eventually nodded his head in the affirmative. Lindsay turned her attention back to her call. "Uh huh… yeah. Secret Service just gave us the heads up; he deposited some of the fake bills they've been tracking… I don't know. But if he found out the bills were counterfeit… I know… Well, just see what you can get out of him, okay? Good luck. Bye."

She set the handset back into the cradle and turned to smile an apology at her husband who looked less than impressed at the moment. "I'm sorry, honey," she said, taking a few steps toward him. "Do you really have to go?"

"Yeah, I gotta go!" he replied mulishly. "You know I get one hour for lunch, and I don't get to pick when it is; either I take it when its scheduled or I miss out. And I've already wasted over half an hour of it standing around waiting for you! I'm fucking starving Linds, and now I barely got any time to eat!"

Lindsay's brow furrowed into a frown at the petulant tone in his voice. "I thought you said you weren't mad at me," she said quietly.

"I…" Danny began, squeezing his eyes shut and reaching up to pinch the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger. He let out a heavy sigh and opened his eyes, his expression softer, but frustration still clearly evident on his face. "I'm not mad at you. I'm mad at the situation," he grumbled.

"And Run DMC," Lindsay offered, hoping to lighten his surly mood, if only a little.

Danny rolled his eyes. "Him too." He took a step toward her, reaching out to gently prod the end of her nose with his fingertip. "I love you," he said gruffly. "I'll see you later."

Without giving her a chance to respond, he turned and was out the door. Lindsay watched him stalk away down the hall until he disappeared around the corner. Glancing down at her own watch, Lindsay let out a sigh. She suddenly felt incredibly guilty for keeping him here simply for the sake of having him around when she knew he was on a tight schedule. She hoped he'd have enough time to get a quick bite to eat before he had to return to duty.

She didn't have time to let her thoughts linger on him for long though. She still had work to do, and if she wanted to be able to take a lunch herself sometime soon, she had to put aside her worries and focus her attention on making some sense of the evidence in front of her while waiting to hear back from Flack. That was easier said than done though, as her own disappointment began to well up inside of her.

She had been so looking forward to having lunch with Danny. It was supposed to have been the first time that they would have actually sat down and eaten a meal together in nearly a week. Lindsay had almost lost count of the nights she'd had to eat dinner either alone or with Lucy as her only company since Danny had been promoted, but this past week had been particularly bad. After she'd put the little girl to bed, she'd wait up as long as she could, but more often than not she'd fall asleep long before Danny came home, let alone crawled into bed beside her.

And the mornings? The mornings were the hardest for Lindsay. She blinked hard to fight back the tears welling up in her eyes as she recalled the feeling of intense loneliness that nearly overwhelmed her every day when she woke to find Danny's side of the bed already empty; his rumpled sheets and cast-off pyjamas the only indication that he'd been there at all during the night. Gone before she awoke, and away until long after she'd gone to sleep… Lindsay had been aiming for playful back at the scene earlier that morning when she'd approached Danny and quipped that she hadn't seen her husband in days, but in fact it was not so very far from the truth. She realized now that she'd inadvertently missed her mark, landing a big fat bull's-eye right where it hurt Danny the most.

The sad smiled he'd given her and the guilt-ridden look in his eyes, and his words… God, she hadn't been prepared for his words.

_You trying to break my heart?_

She'd wanted so badly to set her kit down and pull him into her arms, holding him and never letting him go. Kissing him until her lips were swollen and chapped. Touching him until she'd memorized every line of his body, and he hers. But there was a time and a place for that kind of thing, and she knew that it wasn't when they were surrounded by uniformed officers – officers Danny was now in charge of, who looked up to him and modeled their behaviour after his own. So she'd simply smiled at him, hoping that she was able to convey even one tenth of the love she felt for him in that glance. Hoping that he knew that she didn't blame him for his current absence from her life at the moment and that she missed him every bit as much as he missed her.

"Lindsay? You okay?"

Lindsay blinked, and smiled guiltily at the source of the voice that had interrupted her thoughts for being caught staring off into space when she was supposed to be working.

"Yeah. Sorry, Mac," she said. "I was just… thinking."

Mac came further into the room, his grey eyes boring into hers for a more truthful answer than the one he'd been given. "You wouldn't happen to be thinking about a particular former coworker of yours, would you? Maybe a recently promoted Sergeant?" he asked knowingly, a soft smile forming on his face. "I just saw Danny storm out of here. He looked pretty choked about something. Is everything alright?"

Lindsay's face fell. Try as she might, she could never keep up her façade of strength in front of Mac. "We were supposed to have lunch together today," she said quietly, pulling over one of the rolling chairs from another desk and sitting down. She rested her elbows on her desk and buried her face in her hands. "This is a lot harder than we thought it would be."

Mac placed a comforting hand on her shoulder and squeezed gently. "I know it is," he sympathized. "But it won't be like this forever. Eventually we'll have to find a replacement for Danny here in the lab, so that will mean the workload on the rest of you won't be so overwhelming. And Danny… well, he's got a lot on his plate right now. It's not easy to go from being one of a team to suddenly finding yourself alone at the top of the pyramid. But he'll get there. It will just take a little bit of time and patience, but I have faith in him. And in you."

Raising her head from her hands, Lindsay smiled wanly at Mac. "Thank you," she said. "I meant what I said this morning; it's really nice to have you back."

"Well, Danny isn't the only one who missed all this," Mac replied, gesturing to the lab and its myriad of technical equipment. "I needed some time away to get my head straight, but in the end, I realized I wasn't done here yet. Besides," he said, smiling warmly at Lindsay, "I can't have you using other members of my lab as guinea pigs in your little demonstrations. You owe me five bucks, by the way."

Lindsay laughed and nodded her head. "Yeah, okay," she said. "Although I think five bucks is a small price to pay for science."

"Right," Mac chuckled. "Whatever you say, Lindsay. Now finish up whatever it is you're working on and go eat some lunch."

"I will," Lindsay assured him. "Just a few more loose ends to tie up here and then I'll go."

Mac nodded, satisfied with her response. Then he turned and walked away down the hall and back to his office. Lindsay smiled. It felt good to have Mac back at work again, to see him sitting behind his desk – right where he was supposed to be – and to be able to turn to him when she was in need of a sympathetic and friendly ear.

The sound of the phone ringing yet again jarred her from her thoughts and she picked it up with a sigh, pressing it to her ear before answering. "Crime lab; Messer…"

* * *

><p>"See ya tomorrow, Sarge!"<p>

"Yeah. See ya," Danny mumbled, waving absently at the last of his rookies to leave for the day. He sighed heavily and pressed the heels of his hands against his tired eyes. He still had so much work left to do and it was already… he glanced at his watch. Jesus – seven thirty!

"Fuck," he muttered under his breath as his eyes fell upon the sea of paperwork strewn across his desk that needed to be finished up before he could even consider the possibility of heading home. While there were some definite advantages to his new job – the extra money was a big help - there was just so much that he hadn't been prepared for; the daily reports, the checking and double-checking of every scrap of paper filed by the new patrol men and women under his command, the daily rotas… they all added up so quickly and at times it seemed as though there were barely enough hours in the day for him to complete the paperwork alone. And then there were all of his other duties to consider on top of that.

Everyday he was expected to show up ahead of his crew to check out the overnight reports and see if there had been any developments on the cases they'd worked the day before. Then he handed out assignments for the day before heading out on his own patrol, which is where he spent the majority of his shift, leaving little to no time to get to the damned paperwork until after everyone else had clocked out. He'd been planning on coming back to the precinct and working through his lunch today to get through the bulk of it in the hopes that he could get out of here at a decent hour and maybe even get home in time to tuck Lucy in. But when Lindsay had approached him back at Michael Schaefer's apartment and offered to take him out to lunch, he'd jumped at the chance, putting aside his plans for the opportunity to spend a few minutes alone with his wife… and now look where it had gotten him.

After he'd left the lab, all he'd had time for was a hotdog from the vendor on the corner, which he'd inhaled on the drive back to the precinct, arriving a few minutes late for the second half of his shift. He'd barely tasted the damn thing, which was a shame because _Joe's Hotdogs_ were the best in the city. Lindsay had declared them so the first time they'd ventured to Joe's stand early on in their relationship and they'd made a point of going there together at least once a week. Over the years, Joe had come to know them both well, even offering his congratulations when he heard of Lucy's birth, and outright refusing to accept Danny's money the first time he'd been physically able to walk down to corner on his own – sans the cane or wheelchair – after the shooting.

Today when Danny had shown up at his cart, Joe had smiled a warm greeting...

"_Hey there, Sarge," he quipped. "You want the usual?"_

"_Uh… no. Just one today, Joe. With the works."_

_Joe frowned as he began to prepare Danny's order. "No Mrs. Messer today?" he asked. "She alright?"_

_Danny glanced up at the glossy skyscraper that housed the crime lab and sighed. "She's fine," he replied, taking out his wallet and handing over a few bills for his meal. "Just busy. And I'm in a rush."_

"_Ah. Gotcha," Joe said. He handed over the hotdog along with Danny's change. "Well, say hi to her from me. You two were some of my best customers. Don't be a stranger, okay?"_

_Danny forced a smile on his face, a pang of sadness surging through him as Joe's words hit closer to home than the man had probably intended. He certainly felt like a stranger these days, and he wasn't just thinking about his pal Joe and his hotdog cart. "Yeah. I'll try not to. Thanks, Joe. I'll see ya around."_

With a frustrated groan, Danny scrubbed his hands over his face, trying to centre his concentration once again on the piles of paper in front of him. If he wanted to make a dent in this mess, he had to stay focused or he'd never get out of here tonight. He'd just picked up the topmost file from his desk when his cell phone rang. Retrieving it from his pocket, he smiled at the picture caller ID that told him it was _HOME _calling.

"Hey," he answered, tucking his phone between his ear and shoulder so he could continue to flip through the file.

"Hi, Daddy!" Lucy's cheery little voice sent much needed surge of warmth spiraling through his body and he smiled despite the heap of work staring up at him from his desk.

"Hey, Pumpkin," he said, setting down the file and leaning back in his chair. "How's my favourite girl?"

"I good," Lucy replied. "I make a pickter fo' you today."

"Did you?" Danny asked. "Aw, thank you, baby. I can't wait to see it."

"You come see it now?" Lucy asked. "I wait for you. Mommy says I can."

"Oh, Luce. I wish I could. I'm sorry baby, but I can't."

"Why?"

"Sweetheart, I'm still working."

"But Mommy said so," Lucy countered with the simple and innocent logic of a child.

Danny sighed and raised his hands to rub at his suddenly aching temples. "I know. And Mommy's usually right about these things, but I can't come home just yet."

"But Daddy…"

The slight warble he could hear in his daughter's voice as her emotions began to get the best of her were enough to break Danny's heart for real this time. He could just picture her big blue eyes filing with tears as her lower lip jutted out and began to tremble at the injustice of it all. What he wouldn't give to be able to walk through the front door of their apartment right this second and scoop her up in a tight cuddle, kissing away her tears and feeling her little arms wind their way around his neck.

"I'm so sorry Lucybear," Danny lamented, feeling completely useless as he did the only thing he could; offer his heartfelt apologies while hoping that he'd be able to make it up to his baby girl – preferably sooner rather than later.

"Why you don't wanna p'ay wif me no more?" Lucy sniffled, sounding almost as miserable as Danny felt. An uncomfortably large lump had formed in his throat and thankfully he was saved from having to reply to her gut-wrenching question by the sound of his wife taking the phone from their daughter.

"Baby, go put your PJs on okay?" she suggested. "And then you can come back and say goodnight to Daddy before you go to bed." He heard Lucy huff in protest, but she obediently stomped away, leaving Lindsay and Danny alone on the phone. "Hey babe," she said. "You okay?"

Danny chuckled mirthlessly. "If by 'okay' you mean I feel like I was just kicked in the gut," he replied despondently. He closed his eyes and raked his fingers through his hair. "Jesus, Lindsay. What kind of father am I when my own daughter thinks I'd rather be at work than at home with her?"

"Oh, honey. She doesn't think that," Lindsay rushed to assure him. "It's just… she misses you. And she's only three, Dan. She doesn't understand what's going on or why you're suddenly not around as much as you used to be. She just needs a little time to adjust to all these changes. We all do."

"Yeah. Right," Danny muttered miserably, not at all certain that he liked the notion of his little girl getting used to his continual absence from her life. He mulled the unpleasant thought around in his mind for a few moments before Lindsay spoke up, uncomfortable with his silence on the other end of the line.

"Dan?" she asked. "Come on, baby. Talk to me. What are you thinking?"

"Why did you tell Lucy I was gonna be home to tuck her in?"

He heard Lindsay sigh into the phone. "I didn't promise her you would be home if that's what you're thinking," she began to explain. "I just… she's so proud of her picture and she wanted to be able to show it to you herself. So when she asked if she could stay up and wait for you, I said we would call and find out how late you were gonna be, and then we'd see. I'm so sorry, Danny. I didn't mean for her to put you on the spot like that."

"It's fine," Danny replied glumly. "Listen, I'm still gonna be a little while, but I'm gonna try to get out of here in the next hour or so, okay? Two hours, tops."

"Okay. I'm gonna put Lucy to bed, but I'll try and wait up for you," Lindsay promised. "I love you, Danny. Just remember why you're doing this okay? It'll be worth it in the end."

"Thanks, babe. I love you too."

"Here's Lucy. She wants to say goodnight."

He could hear muffled voices on the other end of the line and he knew that Lindsay had covered the mouthpiece to have a quiet word with their daughter before putting her back on the phone. Finally, there was a muffled clatter and Danny heard Lucy's little voice.

"Hi Daddy," she said.

"Hi, baby. You in your jammies?"

"Yeah. I do it all by mysewf," she said proudly.

"Aw. That's my big girl. Good job, sweetheart."

"But Mommy gots to hewp me bwush my teefs," Lucy lamented, causing Danny to smile, knowing that if left to her own devices, Lucy would do little more than eat the toothpaste and chew on her toothbrush.

"Well you'd better go brush your teeth then," he said. "And have a good sleep. I love you."

"Lots and lots?" Lucy asked.

"Even more than that, baby," Danny chuckled. "Sleep tight, Lucybear."

"Night-night, Daddy," Lucy said. "I's gonna give Mommy lots of kisses tonight so she gots ex-twahs to give to you, 'kay?"

A rush of love for his baby girl surged through Danny and he had to blink hard to keep the tears that had begun to prickle behind his eyes from falling. He cleared his throat to rid himself of the lump that had made a sudden reappearance. "Yeah, Luce. That sounds like a great idea."

* * *

><p>It was nearing eleven thirty when Danny finally turned his key in the front door of their apartment. He held his breath as he pushed open the door, his spirits falling when he saw that all the lights in the main area of their home had already been turned off, save for the light over the stove that Lindsay always left on for him. He quietly turned the deadbolt and set the security chain in place before kicking off his shoes and taking his gun from his holster, tucking it away in the gun safe on the top shelf of the front hall closet.<p>

He stepped into the kitchen and flicked off the kitchen light, waiting a moment for his eyes to adjust to the dark before starting to move slowly and carefully through the apartment. As he did every night, he went straight to Lucy's room, tiptoeing over to the big girl bed they'd gotten for her over the summer and settling himself gently on the edge of her mattress. The soft glow from her nightlight illuminated Lucy's cherubic features as she slept and he stroked her wispy blonde hair from her face before pressing a lingering kiss to her forehead. He sat there for several long minutes with his hand resting on her tummy, feeling the comforting rise and fall of her breathing as she slept.

In whispered tones he talked to her, keeping his voice soft and low. Most nights he simply told her how much he loved her, and sometimes he would tell her about his day – the G-rated version, of course. Since he'd been promoted he'd missed so many of Lucy's bedtimes and although he knew that she probably had no idea of their late night and rather one-sided conversations, it made him feel a little better to be able to share this special time with her.

When he was done, he quietly stole from Lucy's room, continuing down the hall to the room he shared with his wife. A sliver of dim light shone through the narrow crack in the door and Danny smiled at the sight of Lindsay curled up on his side of the bed. She'd clearly attempted to wait up for him, as evident by the book lying loosely in her hand, but had been unable to keep her promise when he'd been later getting home than expected.

Danny set his shoulder bag down on the floor, kicking it aside so he wouldn't trip over it in his rush to get ready in the morning. He hadn't bothered to change from his uniform, hoping against hope that by saving the few minutes it would take him to change back into his street clothes, he might increase his chances of catching Lindsay still awake.

With a resigned sigh, he bent over his slumbering wife and picked up her book, marking her page with her bookmark and tucking it away in the drawer of her nightstand. Turning back to his wife, he gingerly slid his hands beneath her, slowly and carefully starting to shuffle her back onto her side of the bed.

"Mmm…" Lindsay sighed sleepily and Danny winced, stilling his movements in the hope that she'd go back to sleep. She inhaled deeply and scrunched up her face before her eyelids began to flutter. "Danny?"

"Yeah, baby," Danny replied in a whisper, stroking her hair soothingly. "It's only me. Go back to sleep, sweetheart."

"What time is it?" she mumbled into her pillow.

"It's almost midnight," he told her. "Go on back to sleep, Linds. I know you're tired."

Lindsay appeared to contemplate his words, her breathing evening out once again. Danny pressed a kiss to her brow before straightening up. He was about to get up from the bed when he felt a hand on his arm and he turned to see Lindsay squinting blearily up at him. A small smile tugged at the corners of her mouth and her fingers found his, lacing them together.

"Hey there, Sergeant," she croaked, her voice thick with sleep. "Did you have any luck finding my husband?"

Danny gave her a lopsided smile, his thumb gently stroking across her palm. "Yeah," he replied. "I think he's around here somewhere."

"When you see him, tell him I love him," Lindsay said. She raised their joined hands and brushed her lips against his fingers. "Did you eat? There's leftover casserole in the fridge if you're hungry."

Danny shook his head. "Nah. I'm alright. I picked up a sandwich from the deli across from the precinct a few hours ago."

"Then I'll pack some up for you to take for lunch tomorrow…"

She began to sit up, but Danny placed his hands on her shoulders, pushing her back down against her pillows. "I'll take care of it, honey… you just go back to sleep."

"M'kay," Lindsay mumbled sleepily, her eyelids drooping closed once again. "Did you see Lucy's picture?" she asked, rolling onto her side and burrowing under her blanket. "She left it on the kitchen table for you."

"I'll check it out before I come to bed."

"Don't take to long," Lindsay yawned. "I'm cold and I need you to keep me warm."

"I'll be back before you know it," Danny replied. He sat perched on the bed beside his wife for a few more minutes until he was fairly certain she had fallen asleep again. He stood and stretched and began to get undressed. Grabbing his ratty old sweats and a t-shirt from his drawer, he slipped into the bathroom for a quick shower, letting the hot water wash away the stress and strain of the day. When he was done, he got dressed and brushed his teeth, smiling at the mess of blue goo all over the countertop that was a sure sign that Lucy had been in charge of doling out the toothpaste onto her toothbrush earlier that evening.

Once he'd wiped up Lucy's mess, he flicked off the light and began to head to the bedroom. He paused in the hallway, remembering Lucy's picture. Padding into the kitchen he made his way over to the little round table where they usually ate their family meals. Something bright and colourful was propped up against the salt and pepper shakers.

He picked up the picture Lucy had drawn for him, his eyes crinkling into a smile as he gazed down at a dark blue figure with a shock of yellow hair holding the hand of a smaller pink figure with a halo of yellow curls for hair. A large gold star had been carefully affixed to the larger figure over what one would assume to be its chest and Lucy's teacher had written a caption below in neat, block letters: _Lucy's Daddy is a policeman_. _He wears a blue uniform and has a gold badge. _

He carried the picture back to the bedroom with him, placing it on his nightstand before he crawled into bed beside his wife. He switched off the bedside lamp and scootched over so that he was spooned up behind Lindsay, sliding his arm around her waist and nuzzling his face into the crook of her neck. He felt her stir and her hand closed around his, joining them together as they rested against her belly.

"You see Lucy's picture?" she whispered.

"Mmm…" Danny murmured in response. "She's getting better. I almost look like a real person now instead of a potato with hair."

Lindsay chuckled and turned her head, pressing a kiss to his cheek. "Her teacher had them draw someone they were proud of," she explained, tightening her grip on his fingers and inching backward to close the infinitesimal gap between them. "She may not fully understand why you're not around right now, but she's still so proud of you, baby. And so am I."

Danny pressed his lips to her shoulder. "Thank you," he mumbled against her skin. "It helps to hear that every once in a while… although it doesn't make it any easier to be away from you guys so much."

"I know," Lindsay said. "But we Messers are a resourceful bunch; we've gotten through much worse and we'll make it through this."

"You promise?"

"I promise."

"I love you so much," he whispered in her ear. "And I miss you."

"I miss you too, Danny," Lindsay replied. "And I miss this… just feeling you hold me."

Danny skimmed his lips the length of her neck. "Baby, I hold you like this every night," he whispered in her ear. "I come to bed and you're just so beautiful when you're sleeping. I always think about waking you up, but I just can't bring myself to do it when you look so peaceful. So I just hold you until I start to forget how much I miss you."

"Oh, honey." Lindsay turned her head and smiled up at him. "I'm really glad you woke me up tonight," she said. "So, now that we're both awake…" She trailed off and wiggled her eyebrows suggestively.

"Something I can help you with?" Danny chuckled.

"I'll give you three guesses," Lindsay teased, beginning to slowly guide his hand down the front of her body, sliding his fingers beneath the waistband of her sleep shorts. "But if it takes you more than one guess, I'm going to go find that gorgeous sergeant I met at the crime scene this morning and see if he can't do any better."

Danny chuckled, willingly letting his fingers explore her soft, warm folds. "Yeah? Well good luck with that. I have it on good authority that he's hopelessly in love with his wife."

"Mmm… lucky girl," Lindsay sighed as Danny's fingers circled her clit. He heard her breath hitch as he applied more pressure to the sensitive bundle of nerves and soon she was gyrating her hips against his hand. His own arousal grew with the friction of her backside against the front of his body and soon he was aching with his need for her.

Lindsay reached around behind her and tugged impatiently at the waist of his sweatpants, pushing them down around his thighs before she wrapped her slender fingers around his hardening member, gently squeezing and massaging him until he was ready for her.

Danny helped her to shimmy out of her shorts before he pressed himself against her back, anchoring their bodies together with his hand on her belly and slowly slid into her. She accepted his length with a soft moan and he gave her a moment before he began to move. Their legs tangled together and Danny explored Lindsay's neck and shoulders with his lips while he filled her over and over again, keeping his movements slow and fluid until he felt the first flutterings of her climax. He moved his hand to her breasts and teased her nipples with the tips of his fingers until Lindsay's body stiffened and she whispered his name as she came. She raised her hand to his face, turning her head toward him and guiding his mouth to her own, kissing him tenderly until his insides tightened and he moaned against her lips as he found his release.

It wasn't the most spectacular orgasm of his life, but that was of little consequence to Danny. What mattered most was that special connection that existed only between himself and his wife – he'd desperately needed to feel that again and so had she. He'd made love to her in the truest sense of the word, letting his body express the love and affection he felt for her when his words simply weren't enough. He held her tightly, her back to his front, until they'd each managed to catch their breath. Lindsay wiggled in his arms so that she was facing him. She nudged him so that he was laying on his back and she curled up beside him, her head resting on his shoulder and her fingers running idly up and down his chest.

"Danny?"

"Yeah?"

"Are you happy?"

Danny furrowed his brow. "Of course I'm happy," he replied, sliding his arm around Lindsay's shoulders and squeezing her gently. "I got you and Luce. What more could I want?"

Lindsay raised her head, resting her chin on Danny's chest and smiling up at him. "That's sweet," she said, reaching out and touching the tip of her finger to his lips. "But it's not what I meant. You miss it, don't you? The job, the team…"

Danny sighed. "I have to admit, it feels a little weird to hand over a scene to you guys and watch you go to work while I'm stuck on the other side of the tape like an outsider. I'm just so used to being in there, you know? Getting my hands dirty, working with the evidence…"

"Crawling around in dumpsters in the pouring rain at four o'clock in the morning…" Lindsay teased, earning a chuckle from Danny.

"Yeah… that I do not miss," he laughed. He smiled and stroked Lindsay's cheek with the backs of his fingers. "I'm really glad that we got this time together tonight. I think I miss this the most; just talking with you without feeling like there's twenty other things hanging over my head that I should be doing instead."

Lindsay pressed a kiss to his chest. "What you should be doing is sleeping," she said. "You're always out of here so early and I don't want you to blame me for keeping you up when you're all grumpy and tired tomorrow morning."

"What if I told you I didn't have to go in quite so early tomorrow?" Danny asked, and Lindsay raised her head to look up at him, her head cocked quizzically to one side.

"What? How come?"

Danny shrugged. "I stayed a little later tonight, got a few extra things done… so I should be able to have breakfast with you and Lucy in the morning and then we can leave for work together."

A wide smile split Lindsay's face. "Just like old times, huh?"

"Just like old times," Danny affirmed. "Now, if I promise not to be grumpy tomorrow can we have sex again?"

"Danny!" Lindsay giggled at the mischievous twinkle in her husband's eyes.

"What?" he asked, feigning innocence. "We got a whole week to make up for, babe. Besides, you're holding out on me; Lucy told me she was gonna give you extra kisses that you were supposed to pass on to me and I'm looking to collect."

"You're terrible," Lindsay scolded, albeit with a wide smile on her face.

In spite of her words, she let Danny roll her over onto her back, happily winding her arms and legs around him and pulling him down for a kiss while he pulled their blankets up over their heads and sighing in delight when Danny joined their bodies intimately once more.

And when they were done, they talked softly to one another until neither of them was able to keep their eyes open for a moment longer, reveling in the renewed feeling of closeness between them that had been missing from their lives over the past week as they drifted off to sleep.

* * *

><p><strong>So there you go. It kind of ran away with me and I just had to keep going and going (and going and going) so I hope you all made it through right to the end. <strong>

**As always, reviews are appreciated! Thanks so much for reading!**


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